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| CHIEF AUDU.I.OGBEH |
I
am delighted to be in your midst this morning to address this distinguished
gathering on the crucial issue of “DEVELOPING
A RAPID ACTION PLAN FOR QUALITY SEED PRODUCTION, AND PRESENTATION OF THE
ALLIANCE FOR A SEED INDUSTRY IN WEST AFRICA (ASIWA) IN NIGERIA."
2. It is quite encouraging that Heads
of Agencies, Managers of seed companies, Donors, Farmers’ representatives and
other stakeholders, too numerous to mention, are here with us today, as
participants at this workshop. The high turnout of financial partners, the CBN,
NIRSAL, BOA, Ministry of Finance and the Commercial Banks, sends out a strong
signal that the Nigerian seed industry has come of age. It is also an
affirmation that the industry has now fully appreciated the reality that its
business is to provide quality seeds to our ever-ready farmers to feed our
fatherland. This, no doubt, will help us to achieve food security, reduce
dependence on food imports, conserve foreign exchange, and complement the
on-going efforts by this Administration to diversify the national economy.
3. I would also like to commend the
National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) for organizing this workshop. I appreciate
CORAF/WECARD Seed Team (West Africa Seed Program- WASP), AGRA (MIRA), SEEDAN
and the Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG) for their support in making this
gathering a reality.
4. It is, indeed, a great pleasure for
me to share, with this unique gathering of key stakeholders, my thoughts on some
of the ways and means of effecting a structural change in the Nigerian Seed
System for better performance and sustainable food security. Let me, therefore,
begin by underscoring the critical importance of food security as the most
important form of security for guaranteeing the sovereignty of a State. In this
regard when we speak about security, undeniably and globally, the most
important form of security is the security of the stomach. Accordingly, if we
must sustainably feed our teeming population of 170 million people, and also
serve as the food basket for the West and Central Africa Sub-Regions, in view
of their increasing reliance on us for some of their food requirements,
especially grains, we must come up with a clear strategy to ensure the
availability of high quality seeds.
5. In order to ensure availability of
high quality seeds over the long term, as a key strategy for reviving the
agricultural sector, the need to balance the forces of supply and demand of
high quality seeds is inevitable. In the course of this address, therefore, I wish
to examine the current situation in the seed sub-sector with a view to
appreciating the need for its revival and revitalization.
6. First, it is worth noting that the
estimated annual seed demand in Nigeria for 2016 is about 350,000 MT for rice,
maize and sorghum with an approximate seed industry value of N112 Billion ($564 Million). The 2015 annual production was about 122,000
MT valued at N43 Billion ($216 Million). This, effectively translates into a supply-demand
gap of about 231,000 MT valued at N81 Billion ($409 Million). Presently, the gap
is filled through massive use of low quality seeds, such as farmers saved seed
and supplies from unscrupulous seed merchants. In this regard, Nigeria needs a
seed industry revolution.
7. We must reverse this unhealthy
situation in order to increase the productivity and competitiveness of Nigerian
agriculture, generate more income for farmers through bumper yields and block
the huge loss of funds within the system. Given the agro-ecological suitability
for these major crops and availability of adaptable cultivars, resources and
manpower, a seed industry revitalization can be achieved with proper planning
and coordination of the deployment of adapted varieties with yield potential of
over 4.0 t/ha compared to the average 2.0 t/ha currently deployed on farmers’
fields.
8. Second, let me reiterate loudly my
concern on the low yields of varieties in Nigeria compared to what obtains in
other countries for which I challenge the Research, especially not only to
brace up and do more; not only to improve and develop better varieties, but also
to partner strongly with stakeholders to ensure that these varieties get to the
hands of farmers.
9. Thirdly, from the industry and
commercial users’ end (Millers, Processors, and Breweries etc.) the demand for
high quality products that can only be produced using seeds of specific quality
is on the increase. Since demand for
this type of high quality end product is growing faster, the pull for use of
quality seeds is equally increasing. Supporting the growth of the Nigerian seed
industry to produce high quality seeds, which in turn will lead to the
production of quality grains that meet industry needs, is of integral
importance for food security, job creation and prosperity of the economy. The production
of these quality products will help reduce importation and the demand for huge
foreign exchange required for food importation, as companies will source their needed
quality grains from the local market.
10. The scenarios painted above clearly
imply that we need to innovate in addressing the various challenges of the seed
value chain, take stock of how best to ramp up production, and create the
necessary institutional structures to ensure a well regulated seed industry in
the country. This becomes very important and crucial if we must achieve the Ministry’s
targeted actions to attain self-sufficiency in our local staples. Our target is
achieving self-sufficiency within the next 36 months in Rice, Sorghum, Maize,
Millet, Soya Beans and Wheat. This will help us to achieve import substitution
and, significantly, stabilize as well as reduce the high import bill currently
being generated on food items to the barest minimum.
11. We shall mobilize and engage the
active participation of State Governments, the Youth, Women and other key
stakeholders to attain this feat with the cultivation of additional two (2)
million hectares of land yielding two crops a year. In this connection, one
major step we must take, in furtherance of this objective, is the revival and
revitalization of the seed sector, bearing in mind that seed quality is the
most crucial input that will determine over 50% success of our vision. It is
worth noting that we now have seed preference mapping for the country, and we
will ensure that each State of the Federation is provided the preferred
varieties of seed most appropriate to environment for bumper agricultural
production.
12. We will continue to engage with the
financial sector to ensure that seed sector actors have improved access to
credit and finance for the development of the sector. The current high interest
rates being charged by banks are a disincentive to investment in agro-industry.
The situation is exacerbated because the vast majority of our farmers are
peasant/ small landholders with low capacity, minimal productivity, in addition
to being among those with the lowest on- farm yields in the world. Accordingly,
in order to ensure improved access to agricultural credit and financing, the Ministry
will push harder for the introduction of a lower interest regime to the
agricultural sector under the special intervention programmes of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN). We shall follow, with speed also, the reform of the Bank
of Agriculture (BOA) in order to bring it in line with similar institutions in
the rest of the world where the lowest rate of credit delivery is made
available to agriculture and agro-enterprises through specialized financial
institutions/windows.
13. The future of agriculture lies with
our youths, in view of the ageing population of our farmers. In order to ensure
the active engagement of our youths in agriculture, we shall introduce school
farms nationwide, and especially engage schools located in the rural areas to
get into agriculture once again. We shall guide them to acquire quality seeds
from the right sources and promote the mechanization of agriculture as an added
incentive to our growing youth population to embrace agriculture as a
profitable venture.
14. Clearly, with the huge volumes
needed to feed our national population of 170 million people, agriculture can
no longer be treated as a seasonal enterprise, wholly dependent on
rainfall. Rains, as we are all aware,
are often unpredictable, and where predictable may come too early or too soon
or too little, too late. Therefore, the first remedial action is the
recognition that agriculture now has to be an all-year-round enterprise that
should not be subjected to the vagaries of weather or climate, especially
bearing in mind that weather and climatic conditions are rapidly changing. As
one of the planned interventions, therefore, we shall intensify our efforts and
investment in irrigation. In this connection, the Federal Ministry of
Agriculture and Rural Development will work hand in hand with State Governments and the Federal
Ministry of Water Resources in putting
to effective use, the over 200 under-utilized dams which are located in
different areas across the country. More dams, including earth dams, will need
to be built as soon as possible. This is to ensure all-year food production as
a strategic intervention for sustainable food security, boosting farmers’
incomes, providing added opportunity for youth employment and reducing poverty.
15. The above actions, which are key
components of our Roadmap, cannot be achieved without having sufficient
quantity of quality seeds. We shall work, assiduously, to mobilize increased
investment by both local and foreign entrepreneurs into the seed sub-sector to
make sure that we bridge the huge gap between supply and demand. This, we have
started, and we will continue to do more. Few of what we have done so far under
my leadership include:
Ø Development
of a Roadmap for the agricultural sector;
Ø Engagement
of donors and development partners to support the agricultural sector
development more sustainably;
Ø Welcoming
the support of the Private Sector in micro policy reform for seed sector;
Ø Partnering
with Research & Development Institutes and the private sector, through the
NASC, to ensure farmers get quality input at right price;
Ø Introduction of the right policy environment for
enhanced participation of the private sector in agricultural production and
agro-enterprises;
Ø Partnering
with the NABG and the seed sub sector to engage development partners in
promoting good governance, institutional strengthening, and dissemination of
good practices for more efficient
agricultural production; and
Ø Partnering
with SEEDAN and Financial Partners to reduce the burden of access to finance to
ensure delivery of quality inputs to farmers with the active involvement of
women and youths.
16. I wish to observe that in order to change
the seed industry for improved livelihoods and development in Nigeria, we must
get the Technologies, Infrastructure, Institutions and Policies right. On the
policy front, support for seed industry development should feature high on the
agenda of the government. The aim here should be the promotion and support of strong
private-sector-led development. On the institutional front, we shall empower the
entities of government, such as regulatory and coordinating agencies, research
institutions, universities and the extension services for technology generation,
adaptation and diffusion at the national, state and local government levels. With
regard to seed technology, it is important as a country that we make rapid
progress on the introduction of hybrid technology to rice, sorghum and other
crops in Nigeria.
17. In closing this address, I urge you
all to take full advantage of the opportunity offered by this gathering by
making meaningful contributions that will help us attain our objective of
reviving the agricultural sector, and in particular, move the seed sub-sector forward.
I am very curious to see the suggestions that will emanate from this workshop,
as well as the action plan, to jumpstart a revolution in the Nigerian seed
system, aimed at jumpstarting agricultural revival in Nigeria.
18. Distinguished participants, you have,
at all times, been believers in change. I, therefore, urge you to continue to serve as champions of
beneficial and impactful change, in recognition that your little effort can
make a great difference that will serve as an inspiration to others to embrace
the much-needed change that we require as a country to fulfill our hopes and
aspirations.
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